Tim Krul will live up to his billing in Norwich City's Championship push.

The Dutch international produced two superb saves in the 1-1 New Year’s Day draw at Brentford but has come in for criticism in some quarters after a hesitant start to his Carrow Road career.

Daniel Farke has already hailed Krul’s pedigree and experience within the City dressing room, and the Canaries’ head coach insists the former Newcastle stopper has a massive role to play down the stretch.

“I know how good he is and I have so much faith in him.

“At Brentford he earned us that point,” said Farke. “One brilliant save and then a world class save, with a short term reaction from (Neal) Maupay’s header.

“Okay for me the player was offside but there was no flag from the assistant. These are the moments when a goalkeeper wins you points and in that moment we had one. Maupay is one of the most dangerous strikers in this division and of course he was a topic we spoke about before the game.

“A player like that you can’t control for the whole game. We found a way in the end but it was tricky and difficult.”

City can take a breather this weekend from league combat with an FA Cup third round tie against Portsmouth after a gruelling festive spell ended with a hard-fought point at Griffin Park.

“To get this point when Leeds and West Brom both lost underlines how close this league is. Each team can win in any given game,” said Farke. “The quality in the Championship is unbelievably high. At the start of the season Brentford were right up there in the top positions, then they slipped and now they seem to be pretty settled again.

“Mario Vrancic hit the post with a brilliant free kick and Dennis Srbeny was close to winning this game in time added on. Any point at Brentford is a good point, particularly when you regard the circumstances.

“For us, a good start to the New Year.”

Bees’ chief Thomas Fank was left to rue Krul’s heroics.

“Unbelievable saves,” he said. “The Maupay header was a top, top save. I like the work Daniel Farke has done. Norwich is an excellent side. They are well-coached but we should have won the game.”